Kestra received two visits the next day. The first was from the president of the colonies. She got to stay in her cell this time, because she was now in the brig rather than Boomer's cell. Roslin pulled up a chair and sat in front of the bars. Kestra respectfully approached the bars and sat in front of the president. Roslin merely watched her for a moment, but Kestra patiently waited for her to talk.

"Your eye looks like it's healing well," Roslin said simply.

"Yes it is," Kestra replied. Roslin smiled. This girl was not going to give her anything more than what she asked for.

"You claim you are not a danger to my fleet?" Roslin asked.

"Madam President, I've tried to explain this many times. If you still have to ask me that you're either to dense to understand or unwilling to do so," Kestra said.

"You don't behave much like someone who wants to live," Roslin said.

"On the contrary, I very much want to live. If I didn't I would have let myself die years ago on Kobol. I also know that begging rarely gains sympathy, so I don't intend to beg you for my life. Either you'll deem me a threat and kill me or you'll keep me here in your holding cell indefinitely anyway. From what I've seen of your people, you don't have much capacity for trust," Kestra said.

"We can't afford to trust. We're at war," Roslin said.

"You can't afford to make more enemies if you're at war," Kestra said.

"Is that a threat?" Roslin asked tersely.

"No," Kestra replied, "I already told your friend Mr. Adama that I'm alone out here. I'm completely at your mercy."

"Very well, and it's Captain Adama," Roslin corrected her.

"No, Lee Adama," Kestra said. Roslin furrowed her brow. "He runs the ship?"

"Commander Adama is in command of this vessel," Roslin said. Kestra smiled.

"I see. Commander. Does that mean Lee is his son?" Kestra asked.

"Our personnel is none of your business," Roslin said defensively.

"Then tell me what you really came here for?" Kestra asked. Roslin raised a brow.

"These differences in your brain that the doctor found, you know what they are I presume," Roslin said. Kestra nodded. "What are they?"

"I can't tell you that," Kestra said.

"I can easily order that you be thrown out the airlock again," Roslin threatened, "if you want to continue living I suggest you answer the question."

"As much as you can't trust me, I can't trust you. Just know I'm not a cylon and leave it alone," Kestra said.

"We don't know what you are. You could be a cylon or something worse. So I'll ask again, what are they?" Roslin said.

"Lee knows I'm not a cylon. He won't let you," Kestra said, "Lee has a conscience." Roslin cocked her head.

"Lee knows," she said quietly. With that Laura stood up and left the brig. Kestra remained stoic until Roslin was gone. Once she was alone, Kestra let her fear of Lee revealing her telepathy to Roslin take over. Kestra trusted Lee only as far as necessity demanded. She knew that given the choice between keeping his word to her and obeying the commands of his leader, he would choose his people. She knew he didn't really trust her either. He only trusted her as far as his morals demanded. As long as he believed she was innocent he would fight for her life.

The second visitor Kestra received was Lee Adama himself. He came late in the evening when activity on the ship had died down. He didn't want to encounter any prying eyes in the corridors. He entered to find Kestra on the ground doing pushups.

"Keeping in shape?" he asked. She stopped when she heard him.

"Not much else to do around here," she said as she stood up and approached him, "something I can do for you Captain Adama?" Lee arched his brow. "I got a lesson in rank from your president today, though I'm still not sure I understand it all. However, I did learn that the commander is your father."

"Is that important?" Lee asked.

"No, but it is interesting. Now, are you going to answer my question?" Lee looked at the closed door behind him and then back at Kestra.

"I want to know why. Why me? Is the… telepathy. Is it a thing you can do with anybody?" Kestra smiled softly.

"Well, starting with your first question, you were the easiest to communicate with. You spent the most time with me and were the most open of the people I encountered."

"Open?"

"The woman who tortured me before you came in was fueled by blind rage and fear. I knew I'd never get to her, but you, you have morals. A sense of right and wrong. You want to do what's right. Your belief that you are doing the right thing made you the easiest to communicate with, and by extension, the most beneficial," Kestra explained.

"How does it work? I mean… Can you do other things? Can you read my mind?" Lee asked urgently.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by other things, but I can tell you that my telepathy is strongest when projecting to others. I can sense emotion from other telepaths if I focus, but I can't read your mind, no," she continued. She opened her mouth again but closed it quickly.

"What?" Lee asked, "I've asked a lot of questions. I think you're entitled to one."

"Did you tell the president?" she asked.

"Tell her what?"

"When she left here earlier she figured out that you knew… what was different about me," Kestra said. Lee rubbed his hand over his chin.

"I haven't seen the president all day, so she hasn't had the opportunity to ask," Lee said.

"Will you?" Lee looked into eyes and saw the same fear he felt when she had communicated with him from the airlock.

"You're mostly human?" he asked. Kestra gave a small frustrated sigh.

"Yes, my father is a human," she said.

"So you experience human feelings and… you know… you're real?" he asked. Kestra's brow furrowed.

"All life is real, Lee. I feel the same things thousands of species across the universe feel. I feel fear, and pain, and joy, and loneliness. If you're asking if I feel them the way a human feels them, then yes, but I think the question is rather short sighted," Kestra said. Lee was fascinated by Kestra's apparent knowledge of other life in the universe and couldn't help but feed that curiosity.

"Are there other… species who don't feel it like we do?" he asked.

"In a way, yes. Vulcans are a race that have incredible control over their brain function and can actually suppress intense emotions. This makes them a very logical race, not easily swayed by personal feelings. They're almost opposite to Betazoids, because we feel everything, even the emotions of others," Kestra said. Lee's eyes were wide with wonder.

"So these Vulcans can just turn off their emotions?" he asked.

"Not entirely. They still react to situations around them in a similar way to humans,

but they can gain control of their emotions faster because of their abilities," Kestra explained. She smiled as she watched Lee try to understand. He clearly had hundreds of questions in his head, and the spark of curiosity in his eyes pulled Kestra in.

"Ok, so if you feel emotions like a human, can you project those emotions like your

thoughts?" he asked

"If I want to, yes," she answered.

"What if you don't want to?" he asked quickly. Kestra eyed him curiously. "When you asked for my help in the airlock, I panicked. It was like I was feeling your fear." Kestra blushed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend that," she said.

"So you don't have complete control over your telepathy?" he asked.

"Usually I do," she assured him, "life or death situations can make you… lose control a bit."

"Ok, then if you experience extreme emotions, your telepathy is harder to control?" he asked.

"It's a simplified answer, but essentially yes. Why do you care?" she asked.

"I've never met a telepath before. No one has. It's incredible knowledge to have, and I have to satisfy my conscience that it's not a threat to this ship or the fleet," he answered.

"Ok," Kestra answered with a smile, "I am not a full Betazoid, so I only have partial telepathy. Our telepathy is usually defined by the ability to sense, project and manipulate. I am proficient in projection which is why I was able to project my thoughts into your mind. I have been able to sense the emotions of other telepaths, like my mother, if I focus hard enough. I have never been able to manipulate another person's mind. Is that satisfactory to you, Captain?" Lee contemplated this.

"So the most you could do is speak into people's mind like you did with me?" he asked. She nodded. "If you did that during battle it could cost lives." Kestra frowned.

"Would you believe me, Captain, if I gave you my work that I won't use my telepathy to harm your crew?" she asked. Lee felt her sincerity.

"Can you project feelings you aren't feeling? Manipulate me into trusting you by projecting positive emotions?" he asked defensively. Kestra took a step back.

"I've never been able to project an emotion I'm not feeling," she said firmly. Lee watched as she walked back over to her cot and sat facing the back of the cell. He watched her for a moment.

"I won't tell her," he said. Kestra turned and met his eyes. She nodded once. Lee returned the nod.